End of year review:unfairly treated

LegacyUser

I just had my end of year appraisal at work last week and I have to say I was shocked and very saddened at what was said to me. This review will affect the bonus pay out and any potential raise in my salary

I work in the lab in the Pharma industry in a very busy department and I know I am a good and hard worker

I was told in my review that my GMP was not up to the expected standard which I whole heartedly disagree with, the same was said to me last year and I got a very low score and no bonus which again I felt was very harsh. I should have appealed last year but I am a fairly quiet person and don't like conflicts. However this year I have decided to fight back, I feel a great sense of personal injustice and that they are basically picking their favourites.

The thing is the place is so busy that the last time I had a 1:1 was at my midyear review 6 months and my performance on this occasion was fine, since then nothing has been said to me about my performance or any GMP issues which begs the question if there was an issue why wasn't it said to me ? or why wasn't a process improvement plan put in place?

The place is a crazy place to work at present, we are so short staffed . Contractors whose 23 month contract is up are being left go and aren't replaced and even permanent people are leaving of their own accord

We have lost so many people in the last 6 months that I have stepped in to cover a lot of extra shifts and extra stand by and on call because the department we support in manufacturing is 24/7 . If I had not covered all these gaps the potential for manufacturing or packaging line to down was huge.

I feel a great sense of injustice here and I will not be accepting it, I can definitely see a clique type culture where certain people are getting preferable treatment

Would appreciate some advice how to tackle this, I am considering sending an email to my Team leader who gave me the appraisal and copying my Manager on the mail

dudara

Moved from Personal Issues to Work & Jobs Problems

dudara

Johngoose

I find in a lot of workplace situations its the ones who lick their bosses arses or are very charming to their superiors that do well. Also a lot of it is how you sell yourself to co-workers/ higher ranking staff. Basically life is a stage...

Wabbit Ears

Most of these things are measurable and usually if you fall short and it's mentioned two years running ( op says that same was said last year ) then rather than object to the statement ask how you can improve and have it on record that you are working with them to improve your stats.

dudara

Forget going at this with a "clique" view. Your appraiser and manager will smell that a mile off and it won't do you any favours. (No matter how true/untrue it may be).

Your should speak to your appraiser and ask for examples of where you have failed to meet their expectations. You should also ask them to work with you on a performance improvement plan ASAP. If your appraiser has pointed this out two years in a row, then they should have examples to support, plus the onus should be on them to work with you on a PIP.

If you are not getting support from your appraiser, then approach your manager and HR together.

If you have questions about the performance review process in general, I would contact your HR representative for an objective view.

EDIT: I should add that as the appraisee, you are responsible for your own development. Your appraiser is there to support. So you really need to drive these conversations. It can be tough when things are busy, but it's your responsibility.

_Brian

How is the system documented.
Is there a set frequency of 1:1 meetings.

If as you say there was no issue mentioned 6 months ago. And they missed 1:1 meetings since it's very poor to spring a bad message at end if year. Employees deserve to know things are going wrong as it gives a chance to recover.

If they haven't kept to their own schedule them I'd appeal saying you had no warning things were going poorly.


Now, you are also culpable here too. You say you had a bad review last year. You should have been on the ball here and ensured things were good. Even missing 1:1's you could have ensured you were on course for a positive review. Remember, it's your review not your managers, you loose out not him.

screamer

Place I worked pips were sold as helping the employee get back on track when in fact they were used to manage people out.
OP sometimes if you are a quiet obliging decent person you'll get done over so the pushy loudmouthed trouble maker that your boss can't manage is placated. Nice guys finish last in most big companies. Do not accept this 2 years in a row I guarantee you'll be in the same boat next year if you do. And after bad bad form to just spring it on you but you should also have cornered your manager when the 1 to 1s were missed and sought a reschedule.

Michael D Not Higgins

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Most of these things are measurable

Is it measurable? That's the first thing to understand. If it's the manager's qualitative feel of how they think the employee is working, then it could easily be lost due to the OP claiming to be a quiet person.

If there is a measurable target that the OP is not achieving (2 years in a row) then that's another story, and they should be looking to get feedback on how to improve that.

_Brian

screamer wrote: »

Place I worked pips were sold as helping the employee get back on track when in fact they were used to manage people out.
OP sometimes if you are a quiet obliging decent person you'll get done over so the pushy loudmouthed trouble maker that your boss can't manage is placated. Nice guys finish last in most big companies. Do not accept this 2 years in a row I guarantee you'll be in the same boat next year if you do. And after bad bad form to just spring it on you but you should also have cornered your manager when the 1 to 1s were missed and sought a reschedule.

I would agree on PIP's, they can be constructed to help or hinder depending on what is the desired outcome.

Lux23

It sounds like a tough place to work, would you think about applying elsewhere? Personally I think reviews are almost entirely about attitude (this may look like a** licking). If you come across as being able to accept short-comings and willing to do some work to tackle them, then you will probably perform better than your cranky colleague who can't accept that they need to improve. And we all need to improve even if we work really hard. But yea, some of these performance systems are designed to keep people at a certain level.

_Brian

Lux23 wrote: »

It sounds like a tough place to work, would you think about applying elsewhere? Personally I think reviews are almost entirely about attitude (this may look like a** licking). If you come across as being able to accept short-comings and willing to do some work to tackle them, then you will probably perform better than your cranky colleague who can't accept that they need to improve. And we all need to improve even if we work really hard. But yea, some of these performance systems are designed to keep people at a certain level.

Yes,
Reviews are a system, you either work with the system or you're beaten by those who do work with the system.

I've often come across employees who have no interest in working the appraisal system...inevitably they loose out to their fellow employees who make the effort.

People call it a "game", fine then it's a game.. But ya know what, its their ball and their rules, their money to give out, play the game by the rules or be at a loss for not doing so.

Mrs OBumble

Be aware that the bell curve means that someone needs to be marked as under-performing, most people need to be marked as average and a few need to be marked as performing.

sometimes the review you get is not about you at all.

Michael D Not Higgins

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Be aware that the bell curve means that someone needs to be marked as under-performing, most people need to be marked as average and a few need to be marked as performing.

sometimes the review you get is not about you at all.

In the end it means that you're underperforming in relation to your peers though. Sure some managers may need to have a few lambs to the slaughter and choose to save their favourites, but in general it means there's improvement to be made (even if it's just playing the office politics a bit).

1966

Johngoose wrote: »

I find in a lot of workplace situations its the ones who lick their bosses arses or are very charming to their superiors that do well. Also a lot of it is how you sell yourself to co-workers/ higher ranking staff. Basically life is a stage...

Agree totally with what you say & see it in action daily where I work. In my case however, things at work have ramped up and we are potentially facing restructure / possible job losses. Who stays will likely be decided by the Manager being licked up to.......we know who the chosen ones there will be. If the arse-lickers are retained though wud us (the frozen out guys) have a sufficient reason to appeal ?

daheff

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Be aware that the bell curve means that someone needs to be marked as under-performing, most people need to be marked as average and a few need to be marked as performing.

sometimes the review you get is not about you at all.

Bell curve is a discredited theory these days
http://web.mit.edu/chintanv/www/Publications/Chintan%20Vaishnav%20Punishing%20by%20Rewards%20for%20Publication%20Final.pdf

Microsoft stop Bell curve appraisals

_Brian

daheff wrote: »

Bell curve is a discredited theory these days
http://web.mit.edu/chintanv/www/Publications/Chintan%20Vaishnav%20Punishing%20by%20Rewards%20for%20Publication%20Final.pdf

Microsoft stop Bell curve appraisals

Well the bell curve is what is mostly used..

Employees need to face the facts that EVERY review some employees will be BE (Below Expectations) and some IR (Improvement required), employees need to know this and ensure that its someone else and not them, unless they are happy not to "play the game".

I once faught hard with a senior manager in an EOY review session to try and beat the % of BE & IR just to be told "its them or you!", I'm afraid it was them :o

The Cuban

I was in a similar situation for years, prick of a manager who gave bad reviews but yet flaunted every rule the company had. I decided to gather the dirt on him so for the next year I got evidence of any dodgy work he or the company were doing, ie retrospective documentation, undocumented work, breaches of FDA and IMB regulations etc.
Needless to say I always got full bonus and promotion after that.
Not a nice thing to have to do but that's the reality of it.

davo10

The Cuban wrote: »

I was in a similar situation for years, prick of a manager who gave bad reviews but yet flaunted every rule the company had. I decided to gather the dirt on him so for the next year I got evidence of any dodgy work he or the company were doing, ie retrospective documentation, undocumented work, breaches of FDA and IMB regulations etc.
Needless to say I always got full bonus and promotion after that.
Not a nice thing to have to do but that's the reality of it.

I can't see how a company would promote someone who is compiling a dossier on how they have failed to follow regulations. I bet there was no demotion but neither would there be promotion.

The Cuban

The dossier was on the manager himself, it went no further than the two of us. He couldn't stomach me in the office anymore after that. I didnt have to brown nose and laugh at his retarded jokes, so when another position (much better pay and conditions) came up I happened to apply and get the job.
I still watch my back with him though, he`d do me if he got the chance

davo10

The Cuban wrote: »

The dossier was on the manager himself, it went no further than the two of us. He couldn't stomach me in the office anymore after that. I didnt have to brown nose and laugh at his retarded jokes, so when another position (much better pay and conditions) came up I happened to apply and get the job.
I still watch my back with him though, he`d do me if he got the chance

I'm wouldn't at all be surprised seen as you are blackmailing him.

Wanderer78

i find it very sad the crap people have to put up with in the workplace in order to just make a living and to try achieve goals and aspirations in life. we truly have created a dreadful system, a system that encourages and promotes disrespect of our fellow humans. we really have a long way to go as a species. im sorry to hear the news op but im sure it ll work out for you in the end. best of luck for the future